Open letter to French Maritime Administration

Martus TV GmbH
Vladimir MARTUS, President

Subject: Request for Clarification Regarding the Training Ship Shtandart

La Rochelle, May 15, 2025

Dear Sir or Madam,

We are aware that the French maritime authorities are regularly receiving letters from Mr. Bernard Grua, who acts under the name of the group “No Shtandart in Europe”, and we deeply regret this. It is clearly a personal initiative, in which he actively seeks support from Ukrainian associations to reinforce his stance. His communication is especially aggressive and appears aimed at preventing the Shtandart from entering French ports by any means necessary.

For the past three years, the captain and the Shtandart have been the target of an ongoing campaign of threats, unfounded accusations, intimidation, and harassment from Mr. Grua, driven by his own extreme views.

On June 24, 2024, this so-called group publicly claimed responsibility, via a social media post, for including historical ship replicas in the EU sanctions (CFSP Decision 2024/1744), calling it a “victory.” Since then, Mr. Grua has seemingly made it his mission to enforce this sanction, monitoring the ship’s movements and contacting authorities, media, and organizers whenever a port visit is planned.

Beyond the ship itself, this campaign has expanded to target anyone or any organization that expresses support for the Shtandart. Many have faced hostile and sometimes defamatory online publications, sometimes even threats, designed to isolate the ship and discourage solidarity.

Therefore, we believe it is crucial to outline the facts for a fair and lawful decision on this matter:

• The Shtandart is owned by a European Union citizen. Its captain and manager, Mr. Vladimir Martus, has permanently resided in Europe since 2011. He has no ties to the Russian Federation or its leadership. The ship has not obtained an EU member state flag purely due to administrative reasons, though efforts continue.
• Neither the ship, its captain, nor its crew have ever shown support for President Putin, his policies, or the war in Ukraine. All official Shtandart communications – on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Frigate.Shtandart) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/frigate_shtandart/) – are free of propaganda. On the contrary, Mr. Grua’s publications, on behalf of his group, often use Russian symbols provocatively.
• Built in Saint Petersburg in 1999 with support from European embassies and under the patronage of the British and Dutch monarchies, the Shtandart left Russian waters and jurisdiction in 2009 for clear political reasons and has never returned. It should rightly be seen as a dissident ship.
• As a rare replica of a historical vessel, the Shtandart has been warmly welcomed at many European maritime festivals, attracting the public and contributing to maritime heritage.
• Over 8,000 people have signed a petition supporting the ship’s mission (www.change.org/p/help-preserve-the-piece-of-world-s-cultural-heritage-frigate-shtandart), and several associations, such as MOR GLAZ (https://morglaz.org/lassociation-mor-glaz-souhaite-et-demande-aux-autorites-francaises-de-resister-face-a-quelques-opposants-aux-escales-du-shtandart-daccorder-les-autorisations/), support its visits to French ports.
• The Shtandart brings people of different nationalities together around a shared passion for the sea, sailing, and cooperation. The crew is always international, as shown in the crew lists submitted to the French maritime authorities.
• Outside festivals, the ship operates as a sail training vessel, helping to educate young sailors and support the future of Europe’s maritime sector. Testimonials are available on the official website: https://shtandart.eu/fr/choice-of-profession/.
• French authorities have already confirmed multiple times (e.g., DNRED letter of 23/01/2023, Mr. De Beauregard’s letter of 18/04/2024) that the ship does not fall under the sanctions in EU regulation 833/2014. The inclusion of historic replicas in CFSP Decision 2024/1744 appears to be a diplomatic response to Ukrainian requests, without clear legal justification. It’s also worth noting that these decisions were made after the Shtandart reflagged under the Cook Islands.
• The ban on port calls for historical replicas lacks justification in the decision text and has no demonstrated link to the declared goal of sanctions (reducing resources funding the Russian war effort). These flaws, and other violations of EU law, fully justify the ongoing case before the European Court of Justice, with a hearing expected soon.
• Since its creation – including over the past three years – the Shtandart’s visits to European ports have never caused any public disturbance or incidents.

To avoid fueling hostility, we have chosen not to respond publicly to the defamatory attacks on the ship or its captain. However, we were forced to report to the authorities (Nantes public prosecutor and La Rochelle police) public death threats and threats to the crew’s safety made by Mr. Grua.

In light of all this, we thank you for your attention and sincerely hope your administration will continue to support the Shtandart, a European sail training vessel that respects the law and stands for peace and unity, in attending maritime festivals in France.

All documents mentioned in this letter can be provided upon request.

Sincerely,
Vladimir MARTUS
President of Martus TV GmbH

Lettre ouverte.pdf